From Friends to Lovers
by SaySaeri
Summary: AU idea from Tumblr. Staying in the hospital in the same room after a smashing, drunken night from different bars, strangers Masamune and Ritsu find themselves going in a direction neither of them expected (well, maybe a small part of Masamune secretly did expect it...).
1. Chapter 1

**It's FALL! **

* * *

IV bag's dripping.

...

Annoying beeping.

...

Head ringing.

...

Masamune stared up at the pasty ceiling of the hospital room he was in. He didn't bother moving. Slowly, he peered to what was ahead of him at his left leg, wrapped from his knee to his foot. AKA a huge white, throbbing thumb. His cheek was sore too; he grimaced.

_'What the hell happened last night?'_ For the first time in a while, he actually couldn't remember what transpired while he was drunk off his ass. Last thing he remembered was heading to the place he normally drank at if it was wasn't at home or at his friend Takafumi's place.

Work was particularly stressful this month...

_'Ugh...'_ He realized that he wouldn't be able to go to work in a while. _'When I get back it's going to be even worse...' _

"Aarugh..." At the almost agonized groaning, he turned his head. He took a mental note that he was probably wearing a bandage on his head since he felt an odd brush along with his hair as it moved against the pillow. It didn't really hurt though.

_'...Damn.'_ The man next to him seemed to have it worse: neckbrace, a cast on his left arm, and a bandaged ankle on his right side. Looking at his face the best he could, his eyes gradually widened.

_'He's...'_

FLASHBACK:

_"Another one?!" Tires screeched as it turned the street. Masamune groaned in pain on the stretcher. The guy he was fighting with had managed to get him with a chair... if that was right. It's fuzzy right now._

_While his head hurt, he found himself trying to focus on what was in front of him. _

_Eventually, the voices around him multiplied, and a rush of cold air hit him as the backdoors of the ambulance opened. He faintly registered some rain barely soaking through the end of his pants. _

_"Put him here! Quickly- carefully!" A loud thud got him to turn his head. It was another man like him, probably around his age. _

_"I could'hve taken him! Let me go! I almost got 'em!" _

_"Obnoxious..." Masamune mutters, turning away, the loudness hitting him hard in the noggin. "Shut up."_

_"What'cha call me? Wanna fight?!" Masamune turned to glare back, annoyed-but__ froze in place, his line of sight refusing to budge. _

_This guy was cute._

_'Nah... maybe not that cute. What kind of cute guy has a personality like this?' -Which is what he would have rationalized seconds later if he wasn't staring in stunned silence with wide eyes. _

_"...not like this!" He can hear a girl's voice from outside. "He's only like this when he's drunk, really!" _

_'Well, that definitely sucks. Why let him drink in the first place?' -Which is what Masamune would have thought then, but he was temporarily entranced right now. The man next to him was almost beautiful too... and cute. How?_

_"What 're you staring at," the green-eyed man hiccups, the pain steadily getting him sober. "Stop starin'." He hiccupped again. "Stop'it." Another hiccup. To Masamune's disappointment, the other then had his head positioned back to facing forward as one of the paramedics put a neck brace around him.  
_

_'God, even his hiccups are cute,' Masamune thought then as he too faced back forward, taken with him. It didn't matter to him that they were in the back of an ambulance, people buzzing around him. He was in love. _

"How drunk was I?" Masasmune mumbles to himself, the flashback over. He peered over to the man next to him yet again in the hospital room. _'In love...?_

_'Totally not cute,'_ He scoffs, before finding himself glancing back to him once in a while.

_'Maybe... maybe just a little...'_

* * *

**That AU prompt on Tumblr... I couldn't resist. XD**

**This will be a short story!**

**I want to try almost M on here... if I can... I want to practice at it since I'm not really good at it I think...**


	2. Chapter 2

Masamune glowered at the ceiling, ignoring the chatter next to him.

The guy's name was Onodera Ritsu. Ritsu.

But that wasn't the thing that made him glower.

It was _her_.

Shorter than him and Ritsu (he assumed since he hasn't got to stand alongside him), long, light brown hair, light brown eyes... he hated to admit that she was a nice, cute looking girl.

And while he wasn't like, in love with the guy or anything, pssh- her presence looming over his brunet annoyed him greatly. Wait...

His brunet? Masamune's glower intensified as he tried to overturn that notion. He just met this guy. What was wrong with him? This woman was obviously his girlfriend...

"Oh Ricchan..." He reluctantly side-eyes her, narrowing his eyes as she miserably gazed at Ritsu.

"Is he up?" He tilted his line of sight to see a taller, dark haired man about his age, maybe a little older. His eyes were gray, and unexpectedly not intimidating for his slightly bigger than lean build. _'Who's he?'_ Masamune wonders.

"Not yet," the young woman pouts, reaching her hand towards Ritsu. Masamune glares.

"OY!" She and the older guy startle at his shout, looking over at him as they realized he was awake.

"Y-you're awake?!" She asks him in a fluster. "Are you hungry?"

"Do you need something?" To Masamune surprise, the older guy goes over to him worriedly. "Do you need to use the bathroom? I can take you to the bathroom. Do you need to be carried? Cause I can totally carry you and hold up your leg while you-"

"No thank you," Masamune says quickly, finding the guy's oddly enthusiastic concern making him uncomfortable.

"It is lunch time," The girl brings up, looking up at a wall clock. "They said Ricchan was going to wake up about now." She looks over at him. "Want me to go ahead and call the nurse up for your food?"

...

So minutes later, Masamune learned the names of these two people: Kohinata An and Hinamori Kazuto. Funny thing is they met just last night too. What a night.

Apparently, Ritsu got into a fight because some brawny guy tried to get An to go out with him forcibly. She told him how the man had been eyeing her the minute they got there since she was one of the few girls closest to him in area. He finally went up to them after seeing Ritsu drop his head on the table after his drinking limit. When An tried to tug on Ritsu to get him up and leave the brawny man simply yanked him away from her before trying to pull her away.

Hearing An protest was enough for Ritsu to get up and drunkenly throw a glass at the back of his head. Thus, the fight began.

And on his own (with some help from the brawny man), Ritsu consequently broke through a wall, at least three tables, dented one car (will be explained), stepped on his own cell phone, crashed almost 200 shot glasses, 70 regular glasses, some guy's eye glasses, some guy's camera (unrelated to the guy who had his glasses broken), saved a girl from being hit on by three guys, accidently knocking out said three guys with two chairs when he was trying to slow down brawny guy (who was at this point really, really, really scared), damaged some stairs, and finally, the second story window wall that faced out with the entrance because he had tackled brawny guy through it.

"Wait," Masamune couldn't believe, "That's why he ended up like this?"

"Yes," An nods sadly, "He landed on a nearby car with a tarp on the top because something had happened to the roof of it."

"The other dude got caught by the huge crowd that was piling up near the car," Kazuto further explains, "He was crowd surfed to the road because it was the closest thing and he was heavy."

"That is..." Masamune looks over at the sleeping man, no doubt exhausted. "How..."

"Ricchan can be very expressive when he's drunk..." An admits, "He was very stressed lately too since he had a fight with his mother."

"Oh?"

"Yes. We cancelled our engagement."

"Oh..." Why did this make him feel happy inside?

"Actually, it turned out she set it all up first with my mother when we were little..." An trails off, "My mother just said as long as I was happy, so she was okay with it. But, Ricchan's mother..."

"So you two aren't together?" Masamune asks, just to make sure. Make sure for what, he didn't quite know.

"No. He sees me as a little sister." She gives a small smile. "Ricchan is so nice..."

"An...? Nggnnh..." Ritsu groans in pain, a tad confused when he realized he couldn't move. "Wh... What happened? Why can't I move? Am... Am I wearing a neck brace?!" All he can see mostly now are the white walls, the white ceiling, and especially the white neck brace curved towards him like a small hill.

"Ricchan!" An goes to stand closer to him so he can see her. "Are you okay?"

"Does it look like he's okay?" Masamune says.

"H-huh? Who's that?" Ritsu tries to turn his head, but to no avail. "Is that the doctor? I'm at the hospital right? Doctor?"

"No, I'm just a guy you're sharing a room with. You don't remember me? I was in the ambulance already when they got you." He scoffs. This guy gets louder when he's drunk and then forgets what transpires? "Obnoxious."

"Hah?! What are you-" he stopped. Hearing no reply, Masamune watches as a look of bafflement washed itself over the side of the brunet's face he could see. "..."

"AAAHHHH!" Ritsu cries, recalling that he broke a wall and threw a glass at someone. "I'm going to go to jail!" The stress of it all brought tears to his eyes. "They're going to sue me! I damaged property!"

"R-ricchan-"

"I'm the worst! I'm never drinking again! I-" A knock interrupts his loud babbling, and Masamune, An, and Kazuto looked to see a police officer with a clipboard.

* * *

"Onodera Ritsu?" The officer calls, eyebrow raised seeing the now trembling patient. "The doctor told me you were going to wake soon so I thought I'd come."

"H... How much trouble am I in?"

"None at all, provided you sign this." He presents the papers on the clipboard he was carrying. When he saw that Ritsu couldn't see it he walked closer. "You've helped us a lot."

"How...?"

"We've had an eye on the man and his friends for a long while. We've been working with some other countries on their branching trafficking game they got going on. He happened to be taking a break last night when you were there."

"...What guy? Was it the one I threw glass at?" The officer looks questionably at An.

"He doesn't really remember," An explains. "He knows he destroyed property though."

"Ah, then this will be easy then." He puts the clipboard on Ritsu's lap. "Onodera-san, we will pay for everything provided you hand the credit all over to us. You won't be involved in any of the news, and this way, you won't be targeted by anyone wanting a even score, if you get what I mean. You'll simply be referred to as an exceptionally trained officer."

"Okay," Ritsu agrees, before biting his lip. He felt a pen being placed in his hand. "I can't see where I'm supposed to sign."

"Oh, here," The officer helps him with Kazuto's aid, propping his elbow and hand. "Since we're covering the expenses, please relax and take care. Thank you for your work."

"Y-you're welcome...?"

...

It was quiet now. Visiting hours were over, and Ritsu was able to see around the room; the machinery under the bed allowed him to sit up. It was 9PM and the channel on the TV in the corner was on a variety channel.

His next-door bedmate's name is Takano Masamune. He had a fight at a bar too, but he wasn't as hurt as Ritsu was. No one came to visit him today, and Ritsu wondered if maybe it was because Masamune lived alone and was alone when he went drinking. Ritsu lives in his own apartment too, but he would normally go see his parents frequently. Well, not as much now, since his mother was most likely still mad with him.

"That was a little wild back there huh?" He startles from his thoughts to look over at his neighbor. "It was like reading through a synopsis of a action film."

"O-oh?"

"A bad one though. Everything was resolved too quickly, and it was nothing too impressive."

"Oh..." This guy sure knew how to make someone feel bad. He felt he was right though; if it was a movie it would suck.

"This is frustrating though," Masamune begins. "They won't let me call anyone yet. I need to call my co-worker and see if anyone can send work to me."

"You can do that?"

"Of course."

"But you'll be able to leave in maybe a week or two. You could maybe take this time to relax."

"There's not much to do here; might as well do something. I don't want to see piled up work when I get back either."

"I see..." Ritsu swallows, finding his own status miserable. "That's good then. I can't really do much yet."

"..." Masamune stares over at him, thinking to himself before speaking. "You're here for a month right?"

"Yeah. Two to three weeks if I'm lucky." A question pops into his head for Masamune. "Where do you work, Takano-san?"

"Marukawa Publishing."

"O-oh! I'm going to be working there too..."

"Really?"

"Yes... but," Ritsu frowns. "I was transferred to the Shoujo Division."

Masamune raises a brow at him. "What's wrong with Shoujo manga?"

"Nothing! I just never had experience in that. I've been in Literature in most of my working career. When I found out I was transferred to Shoujo they told me it wasn't a mistake so..."

"I see." Masamune crosses his arms, contemplating. "That sucks. With no experience either, you're useless."

"It's not my fault! They said I couldn't transfer again in such a small amount of time either, so I have to work there!"

"If that's the case then, I'll have to show you through the ropes." Ritsu looks at him quizzically. "I'm the head editor for the Shoujo Division, Emerald."

"Eeh?! Why didn't you say that before when I asked?!"

"Cause you asked 'where' did I work, idiot. Now quiet down, you're getting loud."

_'I-Idiot...?'_ Ritsu faces towards his front now, annoyed in his weakened state. His neighbor really did know how to make someone feel bad. _'Jerk!'_


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't get it. There isn't even any wind." Masamune rolls his eyes; him and the newbie were watching an anime from their not-so comfy beds. The girl's long hair was flowing as she confessed to her crush, and they were in the hallway of their school.

This guy just didn't get it. How will he last in their world of Shoujo manga? Well, it's only been two days since they met, so there may be some hope later. That aside...

He examined the younger from the side of his eyes. Despite being banged up the brunet still seemed to have a sort of liveliness- no, stubbornness to him that brightened the room. Masamune found himself annoyed in their little bouts when parts of the anime didn't make sense to Ritsu, but yet it was... fun. The way he closed his lips together to hold back some words were amusing too, too polite in his own way to bad mouth at him. And when he would catch the brunet with some of his awesomeness, he saw that sort of awed blush.

That blush... what was with this guy? Blushing like that when he got irked, flustered by him. It was kind of cute actually. No matter how hard he tried to hide those, he could still see that faint rosy shade. However, it was gone whenever he talked to the doctors and the nurses. He felt so smug at that, guessing most likely correctly that he was the reason for those little blushes.

Unless, was it out of admiration? Certainly, he had some workers look up to him as well, minus the frequent blushes. That didn't fit right with him. If it was just admiration at their work... he frowns.

Why did that bother him?

"Masamune?" He turns his head in surprise, seeing Takafumi come in. True to his word the man brought his work to look through. "Where do I put these?"

"Here." He gestures to where his leg wasn't broken up towards his lap. Takafumi glances at Ritsu in surprise as he passes by him.

"When do you get out?" he asks Masamune, mindful of Ritsu listening in.

"A month."

"No, Takano-san," Ritsu corrects him, "I get out in a month. You leave in two weeks."

"Ah, I don't know." Masamune feigns a cringe. "I was hurt pretty badly."

Ritsu rolls his eyes at that, giving a huff before staring back at the TV.

"Oy, how can you say that?" Takafumi says quietly now out of Ritsu's earshot. "He looks like he fell off a building."

"A window on the second story to be exact."

"He crashed threw it?" Takafumi mutters in disbelief; he found the brunet fragile-looking, so he wondered how he got into a situation in which he crashed through a window on a second story building.

* * *

It was boring. Ritsu turns his head side to side slowly, trying to get some movement in. He wanted to recover as best as he could. That also meant he had to rest, but he was already becoming restless. At least he got to learn more about shoujo manga instead of going to work clueless. He felt Masamune was a little too hard on him, however.

_'I'm injured! At least cut me some slack!'_ Ritsu fumes inwardly, side-eyeing his working boss. The older man had a different aura when working- more mean and bossy too. He tries to nudge away the paper ball against his cheek, thrown to him when said boss 'penalized' him for getting a suggestion wrong for a scenery panel.

"Onodera-san?" A nurse comes in, brightened up to see him. "How is your neck?"

"Oh, it's okay," He replies, thanking her when she took away the paper ball and threw it away.

"Takano-san, please don't throw things at other patients," she scolds him lightly, adjusting Ritsu's neck brace and his casted arm.

"He started it," Masamune says, his eyes on his manuscript.

"I did not!" he huffs, before facing the ceiling; his neck had prickled in pain at the same side again. Once in a while when it happened he feared that maybe his neck wouldn't align right so he'd end up facing up and keeping straight.

"Does it hurt again at that spot?" The nurse notices, frowning in worry. "Try not to strain it- you're not quite ready to move your neck so freely."

"Okay..." he says, a little defeated inside. Now he'll try to rest.

"We're cleaning up one of the rooms on this floor too, so you'll get your own space soon." Masamune looks over at them. "Some peace and quiet may do you some good," she chatters on, adjusting Ritsu's mattress so he can sit up for a meal. "Is that okay with you?" She was referring to how his mattress was. He nods slightly.

* * *

_'That's not good.' _

Masamune taps his pen on the paper, distracted by his thoughts long after Ritsu was fed and the nurse left after giving Masamune his food. Another nurse disposed of it for him when he finished.

Now then...

He didn't want Ritsu to leave. Granted he'll see him at work, but...

But for how long? The possibility of Ritsu transferring from Emerald after a month or two was high. Then he wouldn't see that face as much as he wanted to. He looks over at him again, unabashedly as the brunet was dozing off to sleep. From the way he was facing he couldn't see Masamune anyway. Ritsu's lips quivered in a mumble before he fell into a slumber, his cheeks lightly flushed with warmth.

There was something about all of that that made him continue to stare. When Ritsu's closed eyes fluttered... when those parted lips curved up into a faint smile...

His heartbeat sped up a notch, and he stared long and hard before ripping his stare away.

_'What is this?' _For the rest of the night until he went to sleep, he couldn't stop glancing over at that adorable, sleeping face.

* * *

**I think you know what it is XD**


	4. Chapter 4

**It's the next day, afternoon now this chapter start.**

* * *

Now that Masamune thought about it... there was something he didn't consider about Ritsu.

Yes, he may blush with him and all, but was it out of admiration and shyness, or admiration, shyness, and a hint of a crush?

He hoped it was the second one.

Unless...

Masamune stared over at the napping brunet.

Ritsu had a fiancée. Used to, anyway... and that could also mean that Ritsu probably never dated a man before. He probably didn't consider him- oh...

Oh.

_'Uggh...'_ He faced back to his front, frustrated. Why did his mind have to turn to that? He had to admit, of course Ritsu probably didn't consider him a love interest. He had no reason to.

No reason to...

_'Well,'_ Masamune thought then, _'Not for long.'_

...

_'Maybe I should take the other room...'_ Ritsu thought, trying to not listen to whatever Masamune and his friend Takafumi were talking about.

Friend... maybe that wasn't the right word.

_'They're dating right? Right? Yokozawa-san sits too close and he didn't hesitate at all to take him to the bathroom and hold him up really close. And they share a cat!'_ He had heard them mention one by the name of Sorata.

_'Takano-san leaves earlier than me though, so shouldn't he be the one moving? Wait, then I should just wait then right?'_ He pauses in thought hearing the two voices of the men soften.

Now he felt in the way. What if he was disturbing a touching moment or something?

_'Ugh, this feels like the time I bumped into Haitani-san and his boyfriend. Was it his boyfriend?'_ Ritsu couldn't recall; Shin had told him he couldn't quite keep a boyfriend or girlfriend for long. If it's anything Ritsu hasn't learned by now, it was to mind his own business instead of staring when walking home in the evening.

Anyway, he wanted so badly to move. To move his neck would feel great right now.

His nurse also told him that if Masamune still ended up throwing things at him when he starts work, he could get a doctor's note ordering him not to. _'Ha! In his face!' _

"Onodera, what's so funny?" He jerks a little hearing Masamune. He can feel them looking over at him.

"Huh? Nothing's funny."

"You laughed."

"N-no I didn't!"

"Sure," Masamune says, and Ritsu was sure the man was rolling his eyes.

"I didn't-" he was interrupted by a ball of crumpled paper hitting him. "Stop that!" Masamune throws another one. "Stop it!" he moves his head to glare, only to throw his head back straight when he felt that pain again, worse than last time. "Hnnnh..."

"Oy, stop that," Takafumi warns, getting up and taking the papers balls away. Seconds later, he notices the look of pain on Ritsu's face, and becomes worried. "What's wrong?! Do you need the nurse?" Not waiting for an answer, he goes around and presses the button.

* * *

"Takano-san, no more throwing! Got it?" The nurse glares, another nurse coming in with a extendable hanging curtain. "I understand you're bored, but don't bother a patient like Onodera-san!" She pulls the curtain across, blocking Masamune's sight of Ritsu.

"The other room isn't ready yet," the other nurse says in a worried tone. "I wonder if he'll be okay for a few days until it is."

"He will be okay," The main nurse decides determinedly, casting a warning stare to the 27-year old. "Right, Takano-san?"

"...Right."

It's been a while since he felt really guilty. The other time was when he realized how much he was hurting and using Takafumi from their college days and a year back when they finally called it quits.

...

He just meant to tease, but if it really bothered Ritsu, why didn't he say anything more than a simple protest?

Why didn't he use the nurses against him seriously instead of bluffing?

Deflated now, he looks up at the pale blue curtain separating them. On the other side, he can hear the brunet's soft breathing, asleep from some food and painkillers.

This feeling he had in his chest now, it was aching. He never felt it ache like this before. It was different from the guilt that seeped into it. Other than wanting to apologize, he wanted to be closer to Ritsu. He wanted to see his sleeping face, and be the first thing he sees when he wakes up.

But this wasn't... it couldn't be love.

Actually, considering the way one of his mangaka's works was going right now...

It was getting there.

* * *

_'Hmm?'_ Ritsu slowly opens his eyes, blinking for a moment and remembering what had happened hours earlier.

_'Ah, my neck, it...'_ It didn't hurt now, but he wasn't going to risk anything now. He stayed still, glancing around the dim room. The light source seemed to be on the other side of the blue... curtain? _'Why is that here?'_

"Takano-san?" Ritsu asks for, his voice quiet in case the other was sleeping. "Takano-san?"

"...Onodera?" Masamune responds after a few seconds. "Do you feel alright?"

"Ah, yes. Um, why is there a curtain here?"

"So I don't bother you."

"O-oh..."

"Why didn't you tell me to stop?"

"I did!" Ritsu says a little loudly. "I said it a lot!"

"...Sorry."

"...! A-aah, it's okay." Ritsu tries to grasp for more things to say. "It- It's better this way though, huh? Now you and Yokozawa-san can have more privacy when he visits."

"What?"

"Well, I've noticed how close you two are and-"

"We're not dating."

"You two?"

"Yeah. But we used to."

"Ohh..."

"You okay with that...? Two men?"

"Ah, well, it's not my place to judge... I-I have a friend too though that dates both men and women so..."

"I see. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Have you dated a man?"

"Me? No... I've dated a few girls and that was it."

"So you've never done it." It wasn't a question.

"Wh-what does that have to do with this?"

"Nah, just curious."

"Y-you..!"

"Would you date a man?"

"M-me?" He felt put on the spot. "I... I don't know. I never felt anything towards another man before."

"...I see."

"Why do you ask, Takano-san?"

"It's nothing."

_'Obviously it's something!'_ Ritsu thought.

"And, I'm sorry. Again," the older continued. "I won't throw things at you anymore."

"Even at work?"

"Can't promise that."

"Hah?! So you throw stuff at the other co-workers?"

"Only to newbies who can't do worth crap."

"You...!" Ritsu huffs, trying hard not to make any sudden movements that could endanger his neck. "You're lucky then! I'm going to transfer as soon as I can!"

"..."

"...?"

"...Just like that?" Masamune begins after a while. "What about your mangaka?"

"H-huh? My-"

"She is new to this as well, so you two can learn together. I'm planning to assign you two more. Well, it can't be helped if you can't take it."

"I'm injured like this! How can I already have-"

"Did you forget I'm the chief editor? Besides, I'm used to this workload, so just take your time healing until you can take them."

"What? But how-"

"Aaahhhh, look at the time." The light turns off with Masamune's nearby control. "Goodnight, Onodera. I'll try to show you some material tomorrow."

"O-oh, okay..." Ritsu replies, followed by an oddly comfortable silence. He could wonder what just happened, but then again he could just close his eyes again for sleep and put that all away for now. He'll do just that. "Goodnight..."

...

So he lied about him already having a mangaka- it was no big deal. He will follow through with that anyways, reluctantly. He sighs, for this can only mean more work and work before he can fully try and make progress with Ritsu. He gazes longingly at the curtain as if he can see through it, wondering what the brunet was dreaming of. Ritsu tended to fall asleep pretty quickly.

"Ritsu," he tries the name out, his voice a light whisper. It sounded so nice through his tongue. "Ritsu."

He wondered what his name sounded like on Ritsu's lips.

* * *

**Now begins my re-reading for the number of days! Not even a week with them, yet...**


End file.
